Singlespeed & Fixed Gear"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five.
Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

So I am going to get some Nitto B123's for my IRO *as I hate the bars on it right now* and want to get some grips.

1) What size will fit these bars? IE: I see Bens Cycles (http://benscycle.net) has grips that are 2.0mm and 3.0 mm. I can only assume this is the diameter.
2) Which grips are best, and WHY DO YOU THINK THIS?

So I am going to get some Nitto B123's for my IRO *as I hate the bars on it right now* and want to get some grips.

1) What size will fit these bars? IE: I see Bens Cycles (http://benscycle.net) has grips that are 2.0mm and 3.0 mm. I can only assume this is the diameter.
2) Which grips are best, and WHY DO YOU THINK THIS?

Thanks in advance.

I don't know **** about grips, but I know that 2.0mm and 3.0mm are not the diameters. That is ~0.079" and ~0.118", respectively. I'd have to go out on a limb and guess thickness?

I bought the Soma "Keirin" grips, and they're either made by or molded from Strong-G grips. They're identical to my Strong-Gs in every way, except for the Soma logo, and they're cheaper. I recommend them for the reasons other people recommended keirin grips - very "grippy," last a long time, look good.

I did a three-banger on my track drops. Blue cut ourys at the very top (by far my favorite riding position), some off-brand blue knubby keirin grips reaching to about 1/2 of the bend, and the bottom taped with fizik tape (I really only use this position if I'm braking hard or mashing up a hill).

I did a three-banger on my track drops. Blue cut ourys at the very top (by far my favorite riding position), some off-brand blue knubby keirin grips reaching to about 1/2 of the bend, and the bottom taped with fizik tape (I really only use this position if I'm braking hard or mashing up a hill).

Works wonders and looks great.

You know, you could have just taped the whole bars, had an equivalent amount of comfort, and saved yourself some money and time. Oh, and it wouldn't look like **** to boot!

I did a three-banger on my track drops. Blue cut ourys at the very top (by far my favorite riding position), some off-brand blue knubby keirin grips reaching to about 1/2 of the bend, and the bottom taped with fizik tape (I really only use this position if I'm braking hard or mashing up a hill).

I've heard of people doing this, only in the Oury-tape-keirin grips order, not the Oury-keirin grips-tape that you did. If it's all matching colors, it can look pretty decent.

The Yoshida Champ grips are slightly shorter than Soyo's, Strong G's, and the like (about a centimeter shorter) For most people, this is a part of the grip that they don't use, so it doesn't really matter too much in most cases. If you have huge hands, I might avoid the Yoshidas.

Yoshidas come in a multitude of colors, both transparent and opaque, and in a couple colors they also come in different wall thicknesses (from 1 to 3 mm). You usually only get different wall thicknesses in black unless you're in Japan. The thinner wall thickness gives a slightly bit less insulation from vibration, tends to tear slightly more easily (but is still quite tough), but gives you a smaller overall diameter for small hands. For some women, they're very nice to have around. The extra-thick 3 mm ones look quite bulky (on the edge of ugly) but are good for very big hands.

The Yoshidas tend to slide on and off a bit more easily than Strong G's, and on certain bars much more easily than Strong G corded grips. You can put reflective metallic tape under the transparent Yoshidas for a flash look if you want (there's all kinds of such stuff you can get at any fishing shop that's used to make lures, or some riders in Japan just use iridescent metallic stickers with pictures, labels, etc.).

As for tape, the usual road bike bar tapes are pretty awful these days. The best of the bunch are the couple metallic finish ones from Fizik -- the blue is worth coordinating the rest of your bike with it. But if you have a classic frame and want a really good look, get the super-fine Viva cloth bar tape from www.jitensha.com. They have all kinds of unusual colors like tan, olive green, steel blue, etc. It lasts much longer, lies flatter, and is worth every bit of the extra cost.